Industry Nine Enduro S Wheelset Review

compose Logan Watts
time Jan 21, 2020
comment 7

For the money, the Industry Nine Enduro S Hydra wheelset might be one of the best wheelsets on the market. The “S” in the Enduro S wheelset stands for steel. The wheels feature 28 straight-pull steel spokes to keep them at a lower price point when compared to I9’s unique, semi-custom, aluminum spoke wheels, which cost hundreds more. That said, the Enduro S wheelset is still handbuilt by the team in Asheville. We’ve put thousands of miles on two pairs over the last couple of years for this review.

As specced, the Enduro S Hydra wheelset is quite impressive. First off, it clicks around a the US-made Hydra rear hub with a class-leading, ultra-quick 0.52° between engagement points. You can read all about that in the preamble to this review, “Industry Nine Hydra Review: Worth the Upgrade?” The hubs are laced in a three-cross pattern to Industry Nine’s high-quality, zero-offset alloy rims rim made from 6000-series aluminum. The anodized black rims feature a modern 30.5mm internal and 34.1mm external width that pairs well with wider tires in the 2.3-2.8″ range. I’ve found this width to be perfect for 2.4-2.5” rubber, and adequately wide for 2.6” tires, which I’ve run on them quite a bit. This width even works well for drop bar MTB style bikes running 2.25″ rubber.

The rims come ready for a tubeless setup with rim tape and valve stems installed. I’ve set them up tubeless several times, and they seem to have an exact tolerance and are quick to seat a bead with a floor pump.

Industry Nine Enduro S Hydra Wheelset Specs

Another thing to love about the Enduro S Wheelset is that it’s available in nearly every hub configuration and axle standard—for mountain bikes, new and older, as well as drop bar bikes and “gravel plus” rigs. Here are the details:

Rear Hub Options

For the rear, there are three different hub shell widths with end caps to work with a total of seven different axle standards. All are available with HG, XD, or Micro Spline Drivers.

• DH150/157(SuperBoost) 12 x 150 or 12 x 157 Endcaps
• 148 (Boost) QR141 or Boost 148 Endcaps
• Standard 135/142 QR135, 12 x 135 thru, or 12 x 142 thru

Front Hub Options

For the front, there are two different hub shell widths with end caps to work with a total of seven different axle standards.

• Standard (100mm) QR, 9 x 100, 12 x 100, 15 x 100, 110 Boost conv., 15 x 100 Torque
• Boost (110mm) 15 x 110, 15 x 110 Torque, 120 x 110

On the Trail

We’ve now put some serious miles on two pairs of Enduro S wheels. First, an older Torch set that has seen over 1,000 miles of loaded off-road riding in the Republic of Georgia, Armenia, and elsewhere. We’ve had no problems with them to date, and they’re getting ready for another big trip soon. I had the rear wheel inspected by a trusted wheelbuilder and it was completely true and the bearings and internals still seemed solid. Considering that the entirety of their use abroad was heavily loaded bikepacking, that’s pretty impressive. It speaks well to their build quality, and, in my opinion, to the value of straight-pull spokes on a sub-32-spoke wheelset. That will likely elicit some argument in the comments, but I stand by it based on experience. To boot, Industry Nine backs the Enduro S wheelset with a two-year warranty against manufacturer’s defects. That’s not as significant as many lifetime warranties with carbon rims, but it’s something.

We’ve also been busy riding the new Hydra Enduro S wheelset, which was mounted to the Salsa Spearfish as reviewed here. That pair has nearly 1,000 miles on it, mostly on the rugged trails of Pisgah, with a few short bikepacking trips in between. On technical singletrack, I found the I9 Enduro S wheelset to be stiff enough for pinpoint maneuvering and handling, yet the 28-spoke configuration seems to offer a nice level of compliance and dampening that’s similar to many (much more pricey) carbon wheelsets I’ve ridden lately.

This 29″ SuperBoost wheelset weighed in at 1906 grams with tubeless rim tape and valve stems. That’s quite light for an alloy wheelset, and only 100 grams or so heavier than a comparable carbon wheelset. When compared to the stock WTB wheelset, the lighter weight of the I9 wheels was immediately noticeable when riding the Spearfish.

• Spokes 28 or 32 Straight Pull (in wheelset) or Classic j-bend (hub-only)
• Colors 11 anodized colors
• Price Wheelsets at $975 / Hubsets start at $650
• Weight 890 grams (front) / 1016 grams (rear)
• Place of Manufacture Asheville, USA
• Manufacturer’s Details IndustryNine.com